3 reasons for hope

'By Any Means Necessary" was scrawled in Magic Marker at the top of the bulletin board in the Cubs' clubhouse last Friday, along with batting practice and stretching times.

The quotation from Malcolm X refers to the pursuit of freedom, justice and equality. The Cubs coach who included the words on the daily schedule board was only hoping his players could scratch out any kind of a victory.

They lost Friday's game on a two-run sacrifice fly, which was typical of their play during a 7-22 May in which they managed to lose by every means imaginable, including a popup that conked off the head of third baseman Aramis Ramirez.

Now they're searching for a way to ensure that June will spark a revival. While some are clamoring for a proper burial of a team that is 13½ games behind the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cubs head into Busch Stadium on Friday with a different agenda.

"We've lost some ballgames we should have won, no way around it," general manager Jim Hendry said. "We played some bad baseball in May and collectively had one of the worst stretches I've seen as far as [not] hitting with men on base and not getting the clutch hit, with guys that really have a good track record of doing it.

"We all spent some time driving home thinking, 'What else?' Those three games [against] Atlanta were mind-boggling, how we lost those games."

The Cubs hit .248 in May and averaged 3.2 runs per game, second worst among National League teams. Their pitching staff put up a 4.96 ERA to rank 13th in the league.

Overall, they're hitting .237 with runners in scoring position, down 21 points from last year, and .157 with runners in scoring position and two outs, even lower than last year's .228.

With Derrek Lee, Mark Prior and Wade Miller expected back sometime during June, the Cubs finally may get a chance to see if things would have been different without the loss of their big guns.

Lee had his cast removed Wednesday and is hoping to get back in the lineup in two to three weeks. His wrist is sore, but he said he doesn't want to waste any time doing minor-league rehab. Hendry said Lee won't have to go if he doesn't need it.

The Cubs are banking on Lee's return having a domino effect on the rest of the lineup.

"Hopefully we're out of our offensive problems that were borderline disastrous," Hendry said. "I don't think you can realistically say Lee is going to come back June 15 and hit three home runs the first night. It's probably going to take him a little while to get his timing back."

As for the Cubs' starters, who are a combined 14-23 with a 5.38 ERA, June should tell if the time has come to break up a rotation once mentioned as the best in baseball. Carlos Zambrano had a 1.90 ERA in May, third lowest in the league, but Greg Maddux's 7.29 ERA for the month was the NL's third highest.

Kerry Wood looked more like the Wood of old in his last start, but Prior still is a mystery. Many forget Prior had only three poor starts in '05, allowing 20 runs in 14 innings. In his other 24 starts, he had a 2.83 ERA.

Prior likely will need three more minor-league starts before reclaiming his spot in the rotation. He will make his second rehab start Saturday at Class A Peoria.

Hendry insisted the Cubs will not be sellers in the immediate future, hoping the addition of Lee and Prior in June will alter the direction of the team.

"We put ourselves in a bad spot, but it's still [June]," he said, noting again that Houston reached the World Series last year despite a 15-30 start.

"It's not just the Houston Astros," Hendry said. "There's a long history in this game [of comebacks]. You could be 10- or 11-under [.500] at the end of May and you can get it going.

"We have to really put a dent in it. We have a tough stretch coming ahead and a lot of division games, and you can make up a lot of ground."